Traffic Advisory - Seattle Program Center

Beginning Monday, February 8, Sand Point Way NE will be closed to ALL traffic for a retaining wall replacement project. Traffic will be rerouted to 35th Ave. The main 74th street entrance to the program center will be OPEN during this time.

Traffic along the detour route – along NE 70th Street, 35th Avenue NE and NE 95th Street – has been very congested, especially during peak travel hours. Please be considerate of pedestrians attempting to cross at intersections along this route and be patient with everyone. The Seattle Police Department has been requested to provide speed enforcement patrols in the area to enhance everyone’s safety. Crews are continuing to work 6 days a week, typically 10 hours a day, in an effort to restore Sand Point Way NE to use as soon as possible.

It is likely south bound traffic will be restored by April 2, and north bound traffic in early May, but some of the construction work remaining is weather dependent, and the new water line must be tested before being placed into service, so this is not certain.  

Below you'll find a project overview from the SDOT website. For the most recent updates, view  the project webpage.

Project Description

Due to the steep slope and water saturation, soil is moving behind and underneath the retaining wall that is under the roadway shoulder in the 8500 block of Sandpoint Way NE adjacent to private property. Beginning Monday, February 8, SDOT will begin work on a new retaining wall that will be anchored in deeper, more stable soil.  

Beginning Monday, February 8, Sand Point Way will be closed to all traffic somewhat north of the NOAA Center in the Magnuson Park area. The roadway will be partially removed, some soil excavated and new steel support piles will be anchored in concrete. A new retaining wall will be fitted to the piles, after which the road base and asphalt surface will be replaced.

As of noon on Tuesday, February 23, the contractor had set 8 steel I-beams into the slope just east of the shoulder of Sand Point Way NE.  Each I-beam is 60 foot long, 24 inches across and weighs 11,568 pounds. The steel beams are set into 36 inch diameter holes, partially filled with concrete. After the concrete sets, wood timbers are fit in between the steel beams to hold back the slope – and the roadway.

The cranes which bore the holes and set the steel beams block the entire width of the road – which is the reason for the detours on Sand Point Way NE. However, even after the remaining steel beams are set and the cranes moved off site, further work will be required – restoring the water main, rebuilding the road shoulder and repaving the road surface.

Project Detour

Sandpoint Way NE will be closed in the 8500 block to all traffic (vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians) while repair work is underway. This full closure is expected to last 4 weeks, and will be followed by a closure of the northbound vehicular lanes for another 4 weeks (until approximately April 1)
 
Sand Point Way NE will be open for local access between NE 70th Street and the 8500 block, as well as between NE 95th Street and the 8500 block, but no traffic through the construction site (in the 8500 block) will be possible.

Anticipated Construction Impacts

Information on construction impacts will be available closer to the start of construction in fall 2016.

• No traffic through the construction zone in the 8500 block of Sandpoint Way NE; detour will be in place using NE 70th Street, 35th Avenue NE and NE 95th Street
• No access for bicycles and pedestrians through the construction zone; travel along the Burke-Gilman Trail will not be affected
• Large equipment with heavy loads operating in the roadway 5 to 7 days a week, typically lasting 9-12 hours per day
• Temporary relocation of utilities, potential short term service disruptions
• Significant excavation work, boring for new support piles and retaining wall construction
• For King County Metro service stop relocations and service advisories please refer to http://metro.kingcounty.gov/alerts/

For More Information

If you would like to receive updates on this project, and on the associated closures, please click here.

Questions or Comments?

Please contact:
Art Brochet
Project Communications Lead
art.brochet@seattle.gov
(206) 615-0786